SILVER

Brazilian director Karim Aïnouz (FIREBRAND, FUTURO BEACH, THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF EURÍDICE GUSMÃO) goes all out with this steamy tropical neon-noir set on the sun-drenched coast of Northern Brazil. Heraldo (Iago Xavier) and his brother Jorge (Renan Capivara) are on the lower rungs of a local gang led by a fierce and unforgiving mob matriarch. While Jorge is resigned to his criminal destiny, Heraldo dreams of escaping to wider horizons in São Paulo. When the pair are given the task of collecting an unpaid debt, Heraldo grudgingly accepts but turns up late to the gig after a night on the town to find his brother dead and the job completely botched. Pursued by his former gang mates and the police, Heraldo takes refuge in a clandestine roadside sex hotel, where he is reluctantly given sanctuary in return for doing odd jobs. There, he slowly disrupts the power dynamics within, becoming an object of desire for both the hotel's abusive manager, Elias (Fábio Assunção), and his frustrated younger wife, Dayana (Nataly Rocha), with whom Heraldo embarks on a passionate and potentially deadly affair. Three tickets to MOTEL DESTINO, please! Official Selection, 2024 Cannes Film Festival. DIR/SCR Karim Aïnouz; SCR Wislan Esmeraldo, Maurício Zacharias; PROD Janaina Bernardes, Didar Domehri, Viola Fügen, Caio Gullane, Fabiano Gullane, André Novis, Gabrielle Tana, Hélène Theodoly, Michael Weber. Brazil/France/Germany, 2024, color, 112 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles. NOT RATED

No AFI Member passes accepted.